Improvement in propulsion of canal-boats



PATENTE JUL 25 i871 f/zifeizfar UNITED STATEs PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK. M. MAHAN, OF MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF HIS RIGHTTO PRIMUS EMERSON.

IMPROVEMENT IN PROPULSION OF CANAL-BOATS.-

Spccification forming part of Letters Patent No. 117,437, dated July 25,1871.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK. M. MAHAN, of Memphis, in the county of Shelbyand in the State of Tennessee, have invented certain new and usefulImproveinentsin Canal-Boat; and do hereby declare that the following isa full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to theaccompanying drawing and to the letters of reference marked thereonmaking a part of this specification.

The nature of my invention consists in the construction and arrangementof a canal-boat, as will be hereinafter more fully set forth.

In order to enable others skilled in the art to which my inventionappertains to make and use the same, I will now proceed to describe itsconstruction and operation, referring to the annexed drawing, in whichtFigure l is a bottom view, and Fig. 2 is a lon- V gitudinal verticalsection of my canal-boat. Fig.

is a plan view ofthe stern ofthe boat.

A represents the hull of the canal-boat, the bow of which is madesquare, or nearly square. The sides of the bow are perfectly straight,while the under side of the bow is provided with or shaped so as to forma kind of funnel, B, with one side (the bottom) open, and the otherthree sides curved, so as to gather the water and convey it toward thecenter of said funnel, from which it passes, through a tube, O, to theWheel D, said wheel being situated at any suitable point within theAhull of the boat. The tube O passes longitudinally through the hull fromthe funnel B to the Wheel D. The funnel B, at the same time that itgathers the water at the bow of the boat, also allows the air to pass inwith the water and through the tube, so that the motion of the wheelwill necessarily tend to create a vacuum in the tube, and, as a naturalAconsequence, the speed of the water through said tube will be largelyin excess ofthe speed of the boat through the water. In fact, it hasbeen` demonstrated by experiments that the water passes through the tubethree times as fast as the boat through the water 5 and hence, if thetube is made in the proper proportion, all the water displaced by thebow of the boat will pass through vthe tube, and consequently avoid anyswell of the water on the sides of the boat. The tube or water-way O maybe made in any suitable shape to answer the purposes desired. The aircarried through said tube or water-passage of course escapes at thewheel through openings left for that purpose, avoiding the commotionalways caused by passingI through the water under the hull. The wheel Dmay be of any suitable construction 5 but I prefer to use the Emersonpaddlewheel, patented September 22, 1868, as the buckets of said wheelare in a vertical position, lifting no water in coming out, and throwingthe water straight backward. From the forward part of the wheel aft tothe stern the hull A may be considered as a double hull, with asmoother, E, inserted between them in rear of the wheel. The hulls inrear or' the wheel are straight on the inside, while the under side ofthe smoother is curved, as shown in Fig. 2, whereby the water stirred bythe wheel is smoothed before leaving the stern ofthe boat, and henceobviating all danger of swells which would injure the banks. Thesmoother E may either be stationary or it may be self-adjusting, asshown in Fig. 3. In this case it is provided with suitable guides orprojections moving in grooves on the inside of the hull, whereby it isallowed at all times to loat on the water, and hence, whether the boatis empty or loaded, will smooth the water.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent. is-

l. In a canal-boat, a funnel-shaped bow, as herein described, incombination with a central passage, O, for collecting and carryingbackward both air and water, substantially as herein specilied.

2. In a canal-boat, a self-adjusting smoother arranged in a channelextending from the wheel backward, substantially as and for the purposesherein set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this8th day of July, 1871. Witnesses: FRANK. M. MAHAN.

A. N. MARE, C. L. EVEET.

